Howard Thompson (music executive)

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Howard Thompson
Background information
Birth nameHoward Hillary Thompson
BornJune 3, 1953
Kendal, Cumbria, UK
Occupation(s)A&R executive, radio disc-jockey
Years active1971 - Present
Labels

Howard Thompson (born June 3, 1953, Kendal, England) is an American radio DJ and former A&R man. Described by New York magazine as an "A&R legend",[1]" Thompson is credited with discovering, signing, reviving, or helping the career of artists such as The Psychedelic Furs, Aswad, Happy Mondays, Adam & The Ants, Suicide, The Sisters of Mercy, Motörhead, The Slits, 10,000 Maniacs, Billy Bragg, and Roky Erickson.

1971 – 1981: Trident Studios, Island, Bronze, CBS Records (UK)[edit]

In 1971, Thompson began his music business career as a tea-boy at London's Trident Studios, moving on to tape-copying, editing, and disc cutting.[2] During his time there, he witnessed the recording of albums by Lou Reed (Transformer), Elton John (Madman Across the Water), Genesis (Nursery Cryme), David Bowie (Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust), Van Der Graaf Generator (Pawn Hearts) and Mott the Hoople (All the Young Dudes).

Island Records, the London-based independent label, hired Thompson as an A&R scout in 1974. His first signing was Eddie and the Hot Rods[3] (Teenage Depression, Life On The Line) whose 1977 hit, "Do Anything You Wanna Do" was at the intersection of pub rock and punk. He also convinced the MC5's Rob Tyner to collaborate with the Hot Rods on the single, "Til The Night Is Gone (Let's Rock).[4]" While at Island, Thompson validated John Cale's status as a godfather of punk rock by compiling Guts, a collection of Cale's most aggressive tracks.[5] In 1976, Thompson was instrumental in arranging Island's distribution of Stiff Records beginning with the October 1976 release of the U.K.'s first punk rock single, The Damned's "New Rose." In 1977, Thompson's signing of the Snivelling Shits to Island subsidiary, Ghetto Rockers, ran into difficulties when EMI workers 'downed tools' midway through pressing the band's debut single, "Terminal Stupid/I Can’t Come" forcing the remaining discs to be manufactured in France. Thompson was instrumental in Island's release of the first Tom Petty album, leaking the album to a music critic and convincing the label's general manager not to release a cannibalized EP.[6] Also, while at Island, Thompson licensed Hard Attack, the debut album from Hoosier noise-rockers MX-80 Sound.[7]

In 1978, Thompson joined former Island partner David Betteridge, at Bronze Records, a U.K. indie label known for artists such as Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Thompson and Betteridge set about transforming Bronze into a home for adventurous, eclectic musicians such as Motörhead, Sally Oldfield, and Suicide. Every other British label had rejected Motörhead until Thompson witnessed the band's rabid following at a show at Dingwalls. Lemmy Kilmister, Motörhead's leader, acknowledged that Thompson's signing turned out to be "the beginning of our long-awaited upward ascent."[8] Likewise, Sally Oldfield's recording, Water Bearer, now considered "one of the most refreshing examples of nature-oriented progressive music of any era,[9] "had been rejected by "every single record company in London" until Thompson heard Oldfield's demos and signed her to Bronze.[10] Suicide had difficulty finding distribution for their self-titled debut album. After listening to the album, Thompson flew to New York to negotiate a licensing deal.[11] Thompson's unwavering support of the band led him to record many of their shows, including a hostile 1978 performance in Brussels that turned into a riot. It was subsequently released as an 'official bootleg,' a free Flexi-disk accompanying Red Star's re-release of their debut and then as a bonus track ("23 Minutes In Brussels") in the 1998 re-release of their debut on Blast First Records.[12] While at Bronze, Thompson also licensed the self-titled debut from Boston-based The Real Kids[13] and signed actor/crooner Billy Hamon, using three-fourths of Dire Straits as his backing band for their first outside session.

Thompson left Bronze at the end of 1978 and spent the next three years as A&R manager at CBS Records (UK) in London, where he "developed a reputation by signing experimental but commercial post-punk acts ...[14] "One such act was the Psychedelic Furs who had been recommended to Thompson by writer Giovanni Dadomo. Convinced of the band's importance, Thompson persuaded Muff Winwood, (Head of A&R,) and David Betteridge (Managing Director) to sign them to CBS Records UK. Singer Richard Butler later said," [W]e actually have it on tape, Muff leaning over Howard's shoulder saying, "Yeah, sign them, sign them."[15] The Furs' albums and singles regularly reached into the Top 20 in the U.S. and U.K., but they would, like many of Thompson's signings, "have more impact on future musicians than they ever did in the marketplace.[16]" Other post-punk signings were New Math (Die Trying), The Slits (The Return of the Giant Slits), whose guitarist, Viv Albertine, had attended the same Muswell Hill primary school with Thompson,[17] Aswad (New Chapter), Susan Fassbender ("Twilight Cafe"), and proto-punk legend Roky Erickson[18] (Roky Erickson and the Aliens).[19] Thompson's most savvy signing was Adam Ant, who was then at a career nadir after two labels (Decca, Do It) failed to exercise their option to continue with the musician. Despite being considered "spoiled meat" within the industry, Thompson persuaded his bosses (Muff Winwood, head of CBS A&R, and David Betteridge, managing director) to sign them after seeing the group and their fans (the "Antpeople") at the Empire Ballroom, Leicester Square.[20]

1982 – 1999: Columbia Records, Elektra Entertainment, Almo Sounds (US)[edit]

The global success of Adam Ant paved the way for Thompson's transfer in early 1982 from CBS UK to Columbia Records' headquarters in New York City.[21] During his two years at Columbia, he brought several CBS UK signings to Columbia for U.S. distribution, including Paul Young, Fastway, Yellowman, and Wham!. Head of CBS International, Dick Asher, signed Ian Hunter and asked Thompson to A&R the project (All of the Good Ones Are Taken).

In 1984, Bob Krasnow, Chairman of Elektra Records, offered Thompson the position of VP/Head of A&R – East Coast (and later promoted Thompson to Senior VP, Head of A&R).[21] Under Thompson's A&R stewardship, Elektra released albums by Benjamin Orr, Elliot Easton, The Cars, Björk, Alan Vega, Billy Bragg, The Call, John Campbell, Graham Parker, the Cure, Scatterbrain, and others. He was personally responsible for introducing to the label: 10,000 Maniacs, the Sisters of Mercy, the Faith Healers, guitar virtuoso Danny Gatton, Sara Hickman and (with Kevin Patrick), The Georgia Satellites and The Screaming Blue Messiahs. Thompson expanded the international roster with releases by The Gipsy Kings and A&R-ed six albums by musician, activist, actor, and Panamanian Presidential candidate, Rubén Blades. He licensed Happy Mondays from Factory Records and (with David Field) licensed The Sugarcubes/Björk and The Heartthrobs from One Little Indian.

After leaving Elektra in 1993, Thompson joined Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss (founders of A&M Records) to form Almo Sounds, where he ran the A&R department. He brought a varied group of artists to the label, including alt-accordion-rocker Angel Corpus Christi,[22] Tim Wheater, The Rakes Progress, the Prissteens, Victor DeLorenzo and ManBreak.[23] Thompson hired Bob Bortnick, who brought Garbage and The Pulsars to the label and recommended Living Colour's Will Calhoun and Doug Wimbish as producers for Herb Alpert's Colors album.

1999 - Present: The Star Spangles, WPKN[edit]

Thompson departed Almo in 1999 and announced his retirement, but he returned to the business in 2002 as manager of Lower East Side punkers, The Star Spangles. Thompson landed the band a recording deal with Capitol,[1] and after five years of touring in the U.S., Japan, and Europe, and releasing two albums, Bazooka!!! and Dirty Bomb, the band called it quits.

In 2010, WPKN, a 10,000-watt radio station in Bridgeport, Connecticut, solicited Thompson to take a position as DJ. The following year he was appointed music director at WPKN, where his popular "Pure" radio show remains a staple.[24] Thompson executive-produced the documentary, "The MC5 * A True Testmonial," [25] but following 16 years of litigation, the film remains unreleased. In 2023, photos and footage from Thompson's archives were included in the Danny Gatton documentary, "The Humbler."[26]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "New Rock City". New York Magazine. September 19, 2003.
  2. ^ Shultz, Erin, "North Fork Sound" Former Head of Elektra A&R Carves a Niche For Himself on Internet Radio," Suffolk Times, Jun 25, 2009, https://www.facebook.com/notes/gene-casey-gene-casey-and-lone-sharks/suffolk-times-article-on-howard-thompson-north-fork-sound-radio/95379080757/
  3. ^ Richard Williams, "Mark Hollis 1955-2019, Feb 26, 2019, thebluemoment.com, https://thebluemoment.com/2019/02/26/mark-hollis-1955-2019/
  4. ^ "Eddie & The Hot Rods," North Fork Sound, Sept 13, 2008, http://northforksound.blogspot.com/2008/09/eddie-hot-rods.html
  5. ^ "John Cale - Guts". July 31, 1977 – via www.discogs.com.
  6. ^ Dadomo, Giovanni. "Sounds - January 1, 1977 - The Petty Archives". www.thepettyarchives.com.
  7. ^ "MX-80 Sound," Popalphabet, May 31, 1995, http://www.le-musterkoffer.de/alpha/mx80-01.html.
  8. ^ Kilmister, Lemmy, White Line Fever: The Autobiography (2004) pp 115-16.
  9. ^ Levine, Kenneth, "Water Bearer: Sally Oldfield, Crossover Prog," Prog Archives, Aug 19, 2010, http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=295351
  10. ^ Ybarra, David, "Sally Oldfield. Woman Of The Light," Daeida Magazine, November 2010, pages 34 ‒ 39, Reprinted at https://rodonist.wordpress.com/sally-oldfield-woman-of-the-light/
  11. ^ Various authors (2007). The Mojo Collection (4 ed.). Canongate. p. 394. ISBN 1-84767-643-X.
  12. ^ http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/641/ Recording notes
  13. ^ Needs, Kris, Suicide: Dream Baby Dream, A New York City Story, (2015) Omnibus Press EISBN 978-1-78323-535-3
  14. ^ Graham, Ben, A Gathering of Promises: The Battle for Texas's Psychedelic Music, from The 13th Floor Elevators to The Black Angels and Beyond (2015), John Hunt Publishing, ISBN 9781782790938
  15. ^ Fletcher, Tony, "Richard Butler," (June 2002), The Best of Jamming! Omnibus Press (December 2021).
  16. ^ Thompson, Dave (2004). Beautiful Chaos. Helter Skelter Publishing. ISBN 1-900924-47-1.
  17. ^ Albertine, Viv, Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys.: A Memoir, page 242
  18. ^ Vaziri, Aidiin, "Roky Erickson, psychedelic rock icon with the 13th Floor Elevators, dies at 71," May 31, 2019, https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/roky-erickson-psychedelic-rock-icon-with-the-13th-floor-elevators-dies-at-71
  19. ^ Graham, Ben, A Gathering of Promises, supra.
  20. ^ Fact 165402: Adam And The Ants are signed to CBS Records in London, England, UK, Europe, by A+R man Howard Thompson, Music Dayz, https://musicdayz.com/fact/165402/, retrieved May 21, 2020
  21. ^ a b Shultz, Erin, "North Fork Sound, supra.
  22. ^ Bessman, Jim, "Almo Part of Rondor's New Shoots," Billboard, May 13, 1995, Vol. 107, No. 19.
  23. ^ "Manbreak," Discogs, https://www.discogs.com/artist/11773-Manbreak
  24. ^ Thompson, Howard (April 18, 2020). "howard thompson". WPKN.
  25. ^ ""MC5 A True Testimonial" stirs back to life". The I-94 Bar. June 11, 2020.
  26. ^ "Danny Gatton Movie". THE HUMBLER - Danny Gatton.
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